The Stranded

This Thai series is set on an island a hundred kilometres from the mainland. It is the site of an elite private school and as the series opens most of the students and staff are departing after the end of year graduation ceremony. A group of students remain behind to have a party. As the festivities get underway the island is shaken by an earthquake, shortly afterwards a tsunami strikes. Afterwards it looks like the only people on the island are the students. After three weeks there is still no sign of rescue and the students start to wonder if rescue will ever come. Opinions vary about what they should do but after a damaged boat is discovered they decide it should be repaired and a small crew take it to get help... tensions rise as they debate about who should get places on the boat. There is also a growing feeling that there is something strange going on on the island.

I rather enjoyed this series; at first I feared it might just be a Thai teenaged version of 'Lost'; on the strength of the first season it doesn't seem too like that. The situation is quickly established and we are introduced to the key characters early on. It is also established fairly soon that just because somebody is introduced as a main characters doesn't mean they will survive; this creates a good sense of danger. The island setting is great; its rugged jungle coated nature makes it understandable that the students won't know much about areas away from the school. There is a good sense of mystery concerning just why no rescue has occurred, with various theories raised. As the series came to an end most questions remain unanswered so hopefully there will be a second season. The cast does a solid job bringing their characters to life. Overall a fun series that I'd recommend.

These comments are based on watching the series in Thai with English subtitles.